by Colleen Anderson

Introduction:
Oven-bake clay is a fantastic medium for sculpture and it is simpler than kiln firing clay! Simply sculpt and bake! Create these finger puppets for a spooky Halloween play.

Materials:

Directions:

1. Unwrap the clay from the plastic wrapper and warm it in your hands. This is called conditioning the clay.


2. Roll the clay into a ball about the size of a golf ball.


3. Use the end of a paintbrush to make a hole inside the clay so the clay puppet will fit onto your finger.


4. Begin to shape the ball into a character like: a pumpkin, a ghost, a cat head, a witch’s face, or a monster.


5. Use pieces of colored clay to add details or sculpt all in one color and be prepared to paint afterwards!


6. Cook the clay in an oven or toaster oven according to instructions on the package. Once you cook the clay on a cookie sheet do not use the sheet for food.


7. Allow the object to cool. If it needs to be painted, use acrylic paint.


8. Hide behind a couch or chair and put on your own Halloween play. Finger puppets are great for making fairy tale characters! Make puppets for the characters in these stories, tell the story and act it out as a puppet play.

Resources:
Dierks, Leslie. Creative Clay Jewelry. Lark Books: Asheville, North Carolina, 1994.

Haab, Sherri and Torres, Laura. The Incredible Clay Book. Klutz: Palo Alto, California, 1994. page 39, 53

Roche, Nan. The New Clay: Techniques and Approaches to Jewelry Making. Flower Valley Press: Rockville, Maryland, 1991. p. 106.

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